Bill Text: OH HB96 | 2011-2012 | 129th General Assembly | Engrossed

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: To specify dyslexia as a specific learning disability and to require a pilot project to provide early screening and intervention services for children with risk factors for dyslexia.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2012-03-22 - Effective Date [HB96 Detail]

Download: Ohio-2011-HB96-Engrossed.html

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As Passed by the Senate

129th General Assembly Regular Session 2011-2012

Sub. H. B. No. 96

Representatives Celeste, Brenner 

Cosponsors: Representatives Stebelton, Amstutz, Garland, Foley, Letson, Weddington, Pillich, Dovilla, Patmon, Ramos, Hollington, Phillips, Lundy, Thompson, O'Brien, Yuko, Murray, Williams, Stinziano, Stautberg, Antonio, Reece, Hagan, Fende, Snitchler, Fedor, Milkovich, Clyde, Winburn, Adams, R., Balderson, Barnes, Beck, Blair, Blessing, Buchy, Budish, Butler, Carney, DeGeeter, Derickson, Driehaus, Gentile, Gerberry, Goyal, Hackett, Hagan, C., Hall, Heard, Henne, Hottinger, Johnson, Landis, Luckie, Mallory, McClain, McKenney, Mecklenborg, Newbold, Okey, Peterson, Schuring, Slaby, Slesnick, Sykes, Szollosi, Young Speaker Batchelder 

Senators Hite, Obhof, Bacon, Balderson, Beagle, Brown, Burke, Cafaro, Eklund, Gentile, Jones, Kearney, Oelslager, Patton, Sawyer, Skindell, Smith, Tavares, Wagoner, Widener 

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A BILL

To amend section 3323.01 and to enact section 3323.25

1

of the Revised Code to specify dyslexia as a

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specific learning disability and to require a

3

pilot project to provide early screening and

4

intervention services for children with risk

5

factors for dyslexia.

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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That section 3323.01 be amended and section	7
3323.25 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:	8

Sec. 3323.01.  As used in this chapter:

9

(A) "Child with a disability" means a child who is at least	10
three years of age and less than twenty-two years of age; who has	11
mental retardation, a hearing impairment (including deafness), a	12
speech or language impairment, a visual impairment (including	13
blindness), a serious emotional disturbance, an orthopedic	14
impairment, autism, traumatic brain injury, an other health	15
impairment, a specific learning disability (including dyslexia),	16
deaf-blindness, or multiple disabilities; and who, by reason	17
thereof, needs special education and related services.	18

A "child with a disability" may include a child who is at	19
least three years of age and less than six years of age; who is	20
experiencing developmental delays, as defined by standards adopted	21
by the state board of education and as measured by appropriate	22
diagnostic instruments and procedures in one or more of the	23
following areas: physical development, cognitive development,	24
communication development, social or emotional development, or	25
adaptive development; and who, by reason thereof, needs special	26
education and related services.	27

(B) "County DD board" means a county board of developmental	28
disabilities.	29

(C) "Free appropriate public education" means special	30
education and related services that meet all of the following:	31

(1) Are provided at public expense, under public supervision	32
and direction, and without charge;	33

(2) Meet the standards of the state board of education;

34

(3) Include an appropriate preschool, elementary, or	35
secondary education as otherwise provided by the law of this	36
state;	37

(4) Are provided for each child with a disability in	38
conformity with the child's individualized education program.	39

(D) "Homeless children" means "homeless children and youths"	40
as defined in section 725 of the "McKinney-Vento Homeless	41
Assistance Act," 42 U.S.C. 11434a.	42

(E) "Individualized education program" or "IEP" means the	43
written statement described in section 3323.011 of the Revised	44
Code.	45

(F) "Individualized education program team" or "IEP team"	46
means a group of individuals composed of:	47

(1) The parents of a child with a disability;

48

(2) At least one regular education teacher of the child, if	49
the child is or may be participating in the regular education	50
environment;	51

(3) At least one special education teacher, or where	52
appropriate, at least one special education provider of the child;	53

(4) A representative of the school district who meets all of	54
the following:	55

(a) Is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of,	56
specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of	57
children with disabilities;	58

(b) Is knowledgeable about the general education curriculum;

59

(c) Is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of	60
the school district.	61

(5) An individual who can interpret the instructional	62
implications of evaluation results, who may be a member of the	63
team as described in divisions (F)(2) to (4) of this section;	64

(6) At the discretion of the parent or the school district,	65
other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise	66
regarding the child, including related services personnel as	67
appropriate;	68

(7) Whenever appropriate, the child with a disability.

69

(G) "Instruction in braille reading and writing" means the	70
teaching of the system of reading and writing through touch	71
commonly known as standard English braille.	72

(H) "Other educational agency" means a department, division,	73
bureau, office, institution, board, commission, committee,	74
authority, or other state or local agency, which is not a city,	75
local, or exempted village school district or an agency	76
administered by the department of developmental disabilities, that	77
provides or seeks to provide special education or related services	78
to children with disabilities. The term "other educational agency"	79
includes a joint vocational school district.	80

(I) "Parent" of a child with a disability, except as used in	81
sections 3323.09 and 3323.141 of the Revised Code, means:	82

(1) A natural or adoptive parent of a child but not a foster	83
parent of a child;	84

(2) A guardian, but not the state if the child is a ward of	85
the state;	86

(3) An individual acting in the place of a natural or	87
adoptive parent, including a grandparent, stepparent, or other	88
relative, with whom the child lives, or an individual who is	89
legally responsible for the child's welfare;	90

(4) An individual assigned to be a surrogate parent, provided	91
the individual is not prohibited by this chapter from serving as a	92
surrogate parent for a child.	93

(J) "Preschool child with a disability" means a child with a	94
disability who is at least three years of age but is not of	95
compulsory school age, as defined under section 3321.01 of the	96
Revised Code, and who is not currently enrolled in kindergarten.	97

(K) "Related services" means transportation, and such	98
developmental, corrective, and other supportive services	99
(including speech-language pathology and audiology services,	100
interpreting services, psychological services, physical and	101
occupational therapy, recreation, including therapeutic	102
recreation, school nurse services designed to enable a child with	103
a disability to receive a free appropriate public education as	104
described in the individualized education program of the child,	105
counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling,	106
orientation and mobility services, school health services, social	107
work services in schools, and parent counseling and training, and	108
medical services, except that such medical services shall be for	109
diagnostic and evaluation purposes only) as may be required to	110
assist a child with a disability to benefit from special	111
education, and includes the early identification and assessment of	112
disabling conditions in children. "Related services" does not	113
include a medical device that is surgically implanted, or the	114
replacement of such device.	115

(L) "School district" means a city, local, or exempted	116
village school district.	117

(M) "School district of residence," as used in sections	118
3323.09, 3323.091, 3323.13, and 3323.14 of the Revised Code,	119
means:	120

(1) The school district in which the child's natural or	121
adoptive parents reside;	122

(2) If the school district specified in division (M)(1) of	123
this section cannot be determined, the last school district in	124
which the child's natural or adoptive parents are known to have	125
resided if the parents' whereabouts are unknown;	126

(3) If the school district specified in division (M)(2) of	127
this section cannot be determined, the school district determined	128
under section 2151.362 of the Revised Code, or if no district has	129
been so determined, the school district as determined by the	130
probate court of the county in which the child resides.	131

(4) Notwithstanding divisions (M)(1) to (3) of this section,	132
if a school district is required by section 3313.65 of the Revised	133
Code to pay tuition for a child, that district shall be the	134
child's school district of residence.	135

(N) "Special education" means specially designed instruction,	136
at no cost to parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a	137
disability. "Special education" includes instruction conducted in	138
the classroom, in the home, in hospitals and institutions, and in	139
other settings, including an early childhood education setting,	140
and instruction in physical education.	141

(O) "Student with a visual impairment" means any person who	142
is less than twenty-two years of age and who has a visual	143
impairment as that term is defined in this section.	144

(P) "Transition services" means a coordinated set of	145
activities for a child with a disability that meet all of the	146
following:	147

(1) Is designed to be within a results-oriented process, that	148
is focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of	149
the child with a disability to facilitate the child's movement	150
from school to post-school activities, including post-secondary	151
education; vocational education; integrated employment (including	152
supported employment); continuing and adult education; adult	153
services; independent living; or community participation;	154

(2) Is based on the individual child's needs, taking into	155
account the child's strengths, preferences, and interests;	156

(3) Includes instruction, related services, community	157
experiences, the development of employment and other post-school	158
adult living objectives, and, when appropriate, acquisition of	159
daily living skills and functional vocational evaluation.	160

"Transition services" for children with disabilities may be	161
special education, if provided as specially designed instruction,	162
or may be a related service, if required to assist a child with a	163
disability to benefit from special education.	164

(Q) "Visual impairment" for any individual means that one of	165
the following applies to the individual:	166

(1) The individual has a visual acuity of 20/200 or less in	167
the better eye with correcting lenses or has a limited field of	168
vision in the better eye such that the widest diameter subtends an	169
angular distance of no greater than twenty degrees.	170

(2) The individual has a medically indicated expectation of	171
meeting the requirements of division (Q)(1) of this section over a	172
period of time.	173

(3) The individual has a medically diagnosed and medically	174
uncorrectable limitation in visual functioning that adversely	175
affects the individual's ability to read and write standard print	176
at levels expected of the individual's peers of comparable ability	177
and grade level.	178

(R) "Ward of the state" has the same meaning as in section	179
602(36) of the "Individuals with Disabilities Education	180
Improvement Act of 2004," 20 U.S.C. 1401(36).	181

Sec. 3323.25.  (A) The superintendent of public instruction	182
shall establish a pilot project to provide early screening and	183
intervention services for children with risk factors for dyslexia,	184
including low phonemic awareness. The state superintendent shall	185
select three school districts to participate in the pilot project,	186
one of which shall be located in an urban setting, one of which	187
shall be located in a suburban setting, and one of which shall be	188
located in a rural setting. Any school district selected to	189
participate in the pilot project may establish a partnership with	190
a regional library or library system for purposes of the pilot	191
project. To be considered for the pilot project, a school district	192
shall submit a proposal to the state superintendent that	193
identifies a method of screening children for low phonemic	194
awareness and other risk factors for dyslexia, provides for the	195
enrollment of children identified as having risk factors for	196
dyslexia in a reading program staffed by teachers trained in	197
multisensory structured language programs, and includes a	198
methodology for evaluating the effects of the reading program on	199
the children's identified risk factors. The pilot project shall	200
operate for three full school years, beginning with the school	201
year that begins at least three months after the effective date of	202
this section.	203

The goal of the pilot project shall be to demonstrate and	204
evaluate the effectiveness of early reading assistance programs	205
for children with risk factors for dyslexia and to evaluate	206
whether those programs can reduce future special education costs.	207

The state superintendent shall apply for private and other	208
nonstate funds, and shall use available state funds appropriated	209
to the department of education for the pilot project.	210

The state superintendent shall establish guidelines and	211
procedures for the pilot project.	212

The state superintendent shall consult with the international	213
dyslexia association or any other nationally recognized	214
organization that specializes in multisensory structured language	215
programs for the treatment of dyslexia in establishing and	216
operating the pilot project.	217

(B) Under the pilot project, each participating school	218
district, through early childhood reading instruction and reading	219
assistance programs, shall screen children six years of age or	220
younger for indications of dyslexia, provide appropriate reading	221
intervention services for those children suspected of having	222
dyslexia, and administer assessments, approved by the state	223
superintendent, to ascertain whether the intervention services	224
improve those students' reading and learning. When a child is	225
suspected of having dyslexia, the district shall notify the	226
child's parent or guardian of that fact and that the child, as	227
part of the pilot project, is eligible to receive reading	228
intervention services to measure the effectiveness of early	229
reading assistance programs. The district shall require the parent	230
or guardian to indicate in writing that the parent or guardian	231
voluntarily and knowingly consents to the child's participation in	232
the pilot project for the provision of reading intervention	233
services. Each district shall provide to the parents of children	234
suspected of having dyslexia information about the learning	235
disability, recommended multisensory treatments, and possible	236
services under this chapter.	237

Each participating school district also shall report annually	238
to the state superintendent data about the operation and results	239
of the pilot project, as required by the superintendent in the	240
manner prescribed by the superintendent.	241

(C) Not later than the thirty-first day of December of the	242
third school year in which the pilot project is operating, the	243
state superintendent shall submit a report to the general	244
assembly, in accordance with section 101.68 of the Revised Code,	245
containing the superintendent's evaluation of the results of the	246
pilot project and legislative recommendations whether to continue,	247
expand, or make changes to the pilot project.	248

(D) As used in this section, "dyslexia" means a specific	249
learning disorder that is neurological in origin and that is	250
characterized by unexpected difficulties with accurate or fluent	251
word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities not	252
consistent with the person's intelligence, motivation, and sensory	253
capabilities, which difficulties typically result from a deficit	254
in the phonological component of language.	255

Section 2. That existing section 3323.01 of the Revised Code	256
is hereby repealed.	257